Lock washer



Jan. 3, Wl H, 'HCE LOCK WASHER Filed 001'.. l, 1929 Guam/w11 ?atented Jan. 3, 1933 UNETD STTS PENT OFFICE WILLIAM I-IETRY TICE, F PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR TO TICE LOCK /VASHER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, A CORPORATION OF OREGON LOCK WASHER Application led October 1, 1929.

My invention is primarily intended for use as a lock washer wherever nuts are fastened to bolts. The same is especially adaptable for automotive equipment, railway trackage and railway equipment and in any and all places where a substantial amountof movement or jar is being created by 'the elements in which the Vfastenings are disposed.

The invention consists primarily of a onepiece structure having a central endless disk. Upon one side and adjacent one edge of the endless disk, two engaging, locking jaws are formed. rlhe points of each of the jaws l5 lie outside of the plane of the body element and the respective jaws are formed at oppositely disposed sides of the body element so that one of the jaws may be made to engage the surface upon which the same rests and the other of the jaws be made to engage the outside surface of the nut. The purpose of the locking jaws is toV prevent the turning of the nut relative to the washer and bolt to which the same is secured.

My invention is primarily made of spring material, of relatively thin stock, and is so formed that when placed upon the bolt, either under the head or under the nut, will have the whole of the head, or nut, resting upon a smooth even surface and without being distorted in alignment to the surface of the nut or bolt head when in its normal position.

One of the objects of my invention is to pro-vide a lock washer of minimum weight and so made that the full bearing value of the nut, or of the head of the bolt, will be developed and so aligned that the bolt and the nut will rest in their normal alignment and without distortion. rThe locking jaws of the lock washer are so positioned and functio-n to prevent the turning of the locked elements. j

A further object of my invention consists V in the construction of a lock washer to pre- Scral No. 396,433.

vent the normal tangling or locking of the washers together in shipment.

Wlith these and incidental objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims, and a preferred form of embodiment of which is here inafter shown with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. l. is a perspective, side view of one of my new and improved lock washers.

F ig. 2 is a sectional, end view of a railway rail illustrating the angle bars in position upon the rail and illustrating one of my washers in position upon the fastening bolt of the rail joint.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a nut in position upon a bolt and illustrating one of my new and improved lock washers in position upon the bolt and between the nut and the surface through which the bolt passes.

Fig. l is a top, plan view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a detail cross section taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Figure l looking in trie direction of Figure 6.

Fig. 6 is a detail fragmentary view of 7 the washer blank after the V-shaped portion has been removed and before the jaws are stamped or offset, the slits being shown in dotted lines.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

l preferably form my device of a body element having a hole l passing therethrough. ln the forming of my washer I first notch out of the sheet from which the washer is to be made, a triangular shaped piece that extends through the jaws 2 and 3 formed adjacent each other and about the central portion of the body element 4. rlhe notch eX- tends inwardly from the locking jaws and 90 within the central body portion of the body element as illustrated at 5 in Fig. 1. The

jaws 2 and 3 are sheared from the body element as illustrated at 6 and V for a substaiitial distance from the notch. The amount or length of the shear is determined by the size of the washer and character of use to which the washer is to be placed.- The jaws 2 and 3 are then swedged to form tapering jaws, the taper being uniform and slight from the end of the shear to the end of the jaw, and the jaws are slightly tapered also in cross sectional area.

rlhe cutting out of the triangular portion (see FigureG) produces an edge 8 on each of the locking jaws that is disposed at an angle to a radius of the washer passing through the point of the triangle, i. e. the edges 8of the jaws diverge outwardly. `When the jaws n are bent out of the plane of the washer (seeV Figures l, 3 and l5) there will be points 9 and 10 located at the inner corners ofeaoh'jaw,

' which corners lie farthest from the general planeof the washer 4.' Thus when a jaw is forced into biting contact with a surface the Contact will commence as a point contact at either 9 or 10 as the case may be and this y enables thej aw to bite in more easily than where the contact-'is a line contactl at the start. As the jaws are tapered in theirlongitudinal direction toward the free ends and as they are slightly tapered transversely from their inner longitudinal edges toward their outer periphery, see Figure-5, and asthe faces 8 diverge'outwa'rdly there are continuously being provided points of contact 9 and lO'between the jaws andthe fishv plate or other surface against whichthe jaws are forced.v

The fastening aws are thus inclined or offset,

so that the peints Qand l0 will extend freni i as it is tightened upon the loclr washer hammers the point 9, as illustrated in Fig. 3, into the 'supporting surface and the turning of the nut about theupwardly disposed locking jaw 3 as illustrated in Fig. 3 bends the jaw 3 Vdown as each corner of the nut passes thereover until the nut has been forced home relative to thefbolt, at which time the upwardly disposed body 3 will prevent the rotation of the nut about the supporting bolt by engaging thefside walls of thenut. The entire under surface of the nut when in normal lockedfposition vrests evenly' yand squarelyV upon the surface of the washer and the'nut is not distorted in alignment or position relative to the bolt upon which the same is placed.

iii

As is clearly illustrated in Figure tit will be seen that the inner edges formed by the slits 6 and 7 of the jaws 2 and S'lie approximately a distance from the center of thenut equal to that of the minor diameter of the nut or bolt head so that the jaw which is adjacent to the nut or bolt head may spring `up and engage the flat or side wall face of the nut or bolt head, while the other jaw fthe transverse ,tapering of the same together 'with the V-shaped or dii/'erging facesat the proximate ends of the jaws the point 9 or-10 as the case may be will continuously bite into -the part against which it is forced and thereby insure the jaw effecting a'bite into the part against which it isy forced with minimum pressure.' In other words, L`s the washer is forced homethe point 9 or lOasfthe'case may be will dig, 'beginningy with a pointk contact: and eventually spreading to a chisel contact,

with the point 9er l() as the case `may be in maximum pressure contact. Thisv 'construction increases the effectiveness of the holdof the washer on the fish plate or body against which it is forced without undue strain on the nut. Y

`By making the unbroken vannulus 'ofy a maximum diameter approximately that of the minimum diameter of the nut or bolt head, it will be seen that the nut can be screwed home with complete contact between it and the said unbroken annulus and thereby the tendency to shear the bolt is reduced to a minimum.k

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adaptedto fulfill Y the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to ooniinelthe" invention to the one form of embodiment herein shownk and described, as it is `susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scope of the claims which fol- Y low.' i

What I claim is:

l. A- loclr washer for nuts and vbolts com-y prising an annulus which is unbroken in the general circular direction in which it extends, said'iannulus having a plurality v'of .spring jaws integral with it, the inner longitudinal edges of which jaws lie at distances from the center of the'washer approximately that, but

slightly in excess, of theminor diameterof the nut or bolt head with' which the washer is to be used, said jaws being arranged in airs with their free ends in oroximit oneV p i a head and be pressed thereby into engagement with the adjacent part being secured while the other jaw will engage with a fiat face of the contiguous side wall of the nut or bolt head, each spring jaw being so located with respect to the center of the was-her that it will have its inner longitudinal edge arranged to lie beyond the minimum diameter limit of the nut or bolt and within the maximum diameter limit of the same, said aws being tapered from their bases longitudinally to their free ends and transversely from their inner longitudinal edges toward their outer peripheral edges.

2. A lock washer for nuts and bolts coinprising an annulus which is unbroken in the general circular direction in which it extends, said annulus having a plurality of spring jaws integral with it, the inner longitudinal edges of which jaws lie at distances from the center of the washer approximately that, but slightly in excess, of the minor diameter of the nut or bolt head with which the washer is to be used, said jaws being arranged in pairs with their free ends in proximity, one jaw being extended beyond one face of the washer whilethe otherjaw is extended beyond the other face of the washer, thereby providing a reversible washer, one jaw of which will underlie the angle of a nut or bolt head and be pressed thereby into engagement with the adjacent part being secured while the other jaw will engage with a flat face of the contiguous side wall of the nut or bolt head, each spring jaw being so located with respect to the center of the washer that it will have its inner longitudinal edge arranged. to lie beyond the minimum diameter limit of the nut or bolt and within the maximum diameter limit of the saine, said jaws being tapered from their bases longitudinally to their free ends and transversely from their inner longitudinal edges toward their outer peripheral edges, the proximate end faces of said jaws diverging outwardly from their inner edges, all being arranged whereby when the washer is in use the inner corners of the jaws which lie farthest from the plane of the washer as a whole will provide continuously a point of contact with the wall against which the jaw is forced.

3. A lock washer for bolts and nuts comprising an annulus which is unbrolren in the general circular direction in which it extends, said annulus being provided with oppositely extending longitudinal slits lying outsice the minimum diameter of the nut or bolt head with which it is to cooperate and lying inside the maximum diameter thereof, said annulus having at a place between the opposed ends of the slits a V-shaped notch extending to the periphery of the washer and diverging outwardly, thereby defining a pair of spring jaws, whose opposite edges diverge outwardly from the slits, said jaws being offset described.

WILLIAM HENRY TICE.

llO 

